New Muni routes proposed around Rincon Hill neighborhood

August 7, 11:34 AMRincon Hill ExaminerJamie Whitaker

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Credit: Jamie Whitaker 

Recommendations based on a thorough study of San Francisco's public transit usage, called the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP), along with public input since February on the initial recommendations are ready for a vote from the SFMTA board on September 16th. 

Proposed changes to Muni routes that affect Rincon Hill residents, workers, and visitors include:

• Eventually firing up the E-Embarcadero line on a full time basis to run historic streetcars between the Caltrain station at 4th and King northward to Fisherman's Wharf along the waterfront. You might see this line operational for the South Beach/Mission Bay/Rincon Hill Block Party on September 14th (coinciding with the second 'Sunday Streets' event). The streetcars will run every 15 minutes.  The hurdle for this proposal is getting enough historic streetcars to operate both the extremely popular F-Market route and this new E-Embarcadero route.  The good news is that the platforms are already built into the Muni Metro stops along the Embarcadero.  As an aside commentary, the streetcar stops totally confuse people unfamiliar with their purpose, causing them to miss the Muni Metro that only picks folks up from the center, elevated platforms along the Embarcadero.  If I see folks waiting on the streetcar platform when I'm walking by, I tell them that they're waiting in the wrong spot if they want to get anywhere.
   
• Creating a new 11-Downtown Connector line that would run through a few of Rincon Hill's 2nd Street blocks.  The new route would circulate passengers around Polk, North Point, Powell, Columbus, Sansome, 2nd, 8th, McAllister, and Larkin Streets.
   
• 12-Folsom would no longer run along the Embarcadero and through Rincon Hill on Folsom and Harrison Streets. The ridership from those segments cannot justify continued service.  Personally, I would ride it when I saw it coming up Harrison from the Embarcadero, but I otherwise head to the Muni Metro stop on the Embarcadero at Harrison/Folsom for the most reliable and frequent transit service nearby my home.  The elimination of this route may discourage folks in Rincon Hill from impulsively heading deeper into SoMa's eclectic LGBT-centric nightlife venues - perhaps those bars and clubs should consider running their own shuttle on Friday and Saturday nights to pick folks up nearby the Embarcadero and to take them to clubs along Harrison and Folsom streets down to 11th.

Rincon Hill residents are lucky to be able to walk, to bicycle, and to have excellent access to the heart of our region's public transit hub. Another article in today's San Francisco Examiner discusses how walkable San Francisco is, a "pedestrian's paradise." What would really be helpful for pedestrian safety in Rincon Hill is if the streetscape plan were implemented sooner rather than later, widening sidewalks and implementing traffic calming measures. While the traffic jam-ups leading to the Bay Bridge are dangerous in their own rights, the evening hours and weekends, when vehicles are able to excessively speed down our long, uninterrupted blocks and the darkness of nightfall, make the risks to pedestrians in Rincon Hill higher than usual.  I would recommend folks who are concerned about pedestrian safety in Rincon Hill to join and support Walk San Francisco, the city's pedestrian advocacy organization.